The Line
by TheOriginalSnakeEyes
Summary: Sort of a prequel to The Smoke. A grunt in the Fire Nation army experiences the brutal and baser side of the great war. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

The Line

Quick Note: This story is completely AU. I will however be taking some facts from the new episodes of Avatar as they come out. For those of you wondering, this story was inspired by the music of Gundam Wing and The Thin Red Line.

…

Training had been boring, monotonous, almost useless in Toro's mind. Once it had been discovered that he like most every other Fire Nation soldier was not a "prodigy", they were shipped off to basic training.

There they were given just that, the basics. Basic fire bending, basic attacks, basic stances, basic attitudes. Shut your mouth and soldier on! Basic.

Toro was a lanky thing, built like a withered tree come winter time. His hair was dead flat and had hung over his eyes before the Fire Nation Army recruiters demanded he slit it off. Now possessing nothing but a fuzzy lair of black hair, Toro had only his wily and constantly shifting eyes to light his face.

While true, he had bulked up a bit due to the training and lack of eating, Toro was still scrawnier than most of his fellow soldiers. But he was taller than average and so avoided the requisite bullying that new recruits usually received based solely on his height and "don't give no damn" attitude.

At the recruiters office for the Fire Nation Army, when Toro was in line behind a particularly nationalistic recruit, he heard this:

"Why do you want to be recruited for the Fire Nation Army?" the recruiter asked, as if no one with half a brain realized that "recruitment" was code for "draft" just as "Army" was slang for "meat to be crushed by rocks and drowned at sea".

"To serve the Fire Nation, the Greatest Nation on the face of the planet! And to perpetuate that greatness for history and all time to come!" the new recruit said. He was built well, muscular, handsome, looked like a younger Firelord Ozai, he would be a fine soldier. Toro considered stabbing him right there with the dagger he carried.

"Good solider, good," the recruiter said with a satisfied yet firm look on his face. "Next!"

Toro sauntered up. Immediately the recruiter took a visible dislike to him. His dirty and ragged clothes were a dead giveaway as to his class, as in he had none. Toro's father was a blade smith and not a particularly good one, in fact Toro suspected that the knife he had hitched to his belt (that his father had fashioned for him) would break the second he used it.

"Why are you here?" the recruiter spat out as he looked up from his seating position into Toro's face. Toro blinked and looked around at the scads and scads of future soldiers each giving their own individual but all patriotic answers to the question.

"I want to set some people on fire, a lot of people." Toro said, dead serious. The recruiter smirked.

"Good luck." he said as he handed Toro his recruitment scroll. Though the way he said good luck sounded more like an insult than anything else.

So, Toro had proceeded into basic training, had made no friends, but was witness to the stunning rise of one solider. Ishi Yamanaka. A man as old as he was, yet so much more than he was. Ishi had everything: prodigal fire bending talents, a noble lineage that stretched back thousands of years, money, a rumor that he would possibly be in line to marry into the Fire Nation Royal Family. Toro felt nothing towards him. Not hate, not jealously. Honestly, Toro just wanted to screw something, why couldn't these training camps be uni-gender?

Toro had just completed his basic training for the day and was sitting on a simple bench. Drenched in sweat, he removed the requisite masked helmet that all low ranking Fire Nation soldiers were ordered to wear. Sitting there, he was content to pant in solitude as his weak body began to recover from the training, but this was not to be.

"Hello!" came a voice.

Toro weakly looked up. It was the nationalist. The man who had stood in front of him in the recruitment line.

"…hello?" Toro asked more as a question than as any kind of greeting.

"How does the day greet you soldier?" he asked, a broad smile crossed across his face as he puffed his chest out. Toro could quickly see why. He had just been promoted.

"It greets me well…sir." Toro said, too tired to stand. He didn't have to as he then sat down.

"Please, call me Hiro," the nationalist said as he sat down next to Toro. "Hey, I recognize you…you were with me in the recruitment line weren't you?" he asked.

"Uh…yes I guess I was." Toro responded. As he did he also wondered how in the hell this man could be so chipper and energetic after such a rigorous fire bending training session. He was barely sweating!

"You had…quite the interesting response to the question if I recall…" Hiro said.

"Uh, thank you sir, uh, Hiro." Toro responded.

"Listen to me…" Hiro paused.

"Toro." Toro said.

"Toro, I've just been made squad leader, and we're about to go out on task, on assignment, you know?" Hiro said.

Toro couldn't begin to imagine where this was going.

"Yes, sir?" Toro asked.

"We're going to the Southern Earth Kingdom jungles, going to get the drop on a few old strongholds that the Fire Lord doesn't want giving our troops any trouble in the future," Hiro paused for breath. "The reason I'm telling you this is because I want you to be there with me."

Toro blinked. What could this possibly mean? This nationalist was inviting him, a scum sucking private (not even a PFC!) to go out on assignment with him.

"Uh, sir…"

"You're different Toro, and I like that, I need that. Say you'll come?" Hiro asked, looking straight into his eyes.

Toro was a grunt. Yet another in a long line of faceless fire benders who had enough mind to summon fire to kill and take simple orders that included just that. His life expectancy in the field was zero. His only hope for a legacy would be to have screwed a woman before hand and gotten her pregnant with his inferior seed. Toro knew what awaited him. Death by earth or death by water.

"Yes sir." Toro responded. He would embrace death in whatever form it would take.

"Good, with you and Ishe on my squad, we can-" Hiro was interrupted by the sounding of a gong.

All of the sudden, fire nation grunts and career soldiers were dropping whatever they were doing and running in the same direction.

"What's going on, you soldier?" Hiro asked a passing grunt.

"It's the Avatar sir, we just got word, he's dead!" at this, Hiro got to his feet. Toro could only stare up at him.

"For the fire nation," Hiro muttered with a patriots' smile augmenting the sun shining down on his face. Stuck in the accompanying shadow, Toro stared blankly. Then, with little inclination, he snapped his fingers together and lit a small flame.

"Death." he whispered, squelching the flame in his fist.

-To Be Continued.


	2. Chapter 2

-1The Line

Chapter Two

The war had scarcely begun. Despite not being a tactician or even that deep of a thinker, Toro knew this for sure. Sure, the Avatar was dead.

"But the other nations still stand." Hiro said to Toro over his shoulder as the two (amongst the rest of the fire bending platoon) were riding in a war balloon towards their assigned destination.

"And that still means something with the Avatar dead?" Toro asked. Hiro looked at him dumbfounded.

"Of course! The Avatar was merely a symbol. A powerful one yes, but a symbol none the less. With him gone the real work of the war has begun."

"Yeah," Toro began, looking over the rest of the lot that made up his platoon. "Whatever you say, sir."

"Private," Hiro said, nodding towards Toro.

"Sir?" Toro asked as he balled and un-balled his right hand, alternating between creating a small flame and squelching it.

"What's your take on him?" Hiro asked nodding again, this time at the corner of the massive metallic war balloon chamber where the other half of the soldiers were situated. It broke down into halves; half surrounded Hiro the leader and the other half…

"Ishe Yamanaka…aside from the name and the face I don't know diddily doo about him…uh sir." Toro mumbled quickly, forgetting he was talking to a commanding officer.

"Oh Toro," Hiro sighed. "it would really help you to stay just a little informed."

Toro looked over at Ishe, and found nothing to be impressed about. The guy was about his height, probably considered more attractive by most women (and some men) with his jet black hair and golden eyes. Grunting, Toro got to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Hiro asked.

"Recon work sir." Toro said. Walking across the metal surface of the interior of the war balloon, Toro began sizing up Ishe as he approached. The closer he got, the more a feeling grew in him. As if, this man, Ishe was emanating some kind of presence other than physical. Getting within five feet of Ishe, Toro began to wriggle his way past the throng of troops surrounding him when he was hit sharply with a shoulder to the chest.

"'Ey Ishe, you got another fan-boy here!" yelled a tall, brutish looking soldier. Toro looked up and clenched his teeth, balling his fists as he did so.

"Oh wow, this one wants a piece?" the imposing figure asked as he leaned over Toro. Getting an up close look, Toro could see that this truly was a man bred for battle. Bulging muscles and various scars were complimented by brown spiky hair that seemed to zig and zag like lightning at his forehead.

"You pulling rank?" Toro asked.

"What rank? I'm a private too-" before he could finish Toro swept his legs in an arc that hugged that floor. Caught completely by surprise the taller man was quite literally swept off of his feet and landed elbow first on the hard metal of the war balloon.

The resounding thud of bone smashing into metal caught the attention of the rest of the ship. All heads turned to the spectacle. And with each passing second the men and women of the fire nation platoon began cheering and jeering the two combatants.

"Oh…" the man muttered as he slowly got to his feet with a smile that could crack a boulder adorning his features. "…oh thank you thank you, I thought I wasn't gonna see any action till we popped some dirt pushing earth benders!"

Toro rushed to his feet. Pressing his earlier fortune, he quickly punched his opponent, catching him in the chin as he was getting to his feet.

The collective audience that had created a circle around them went from screaming and jeering to a hushed silence. Toro bared his teeth. That punch had hurt **him** just as much as he imagined it hurt the other guy.

Or not.

The man slowly craned his neck back around to where he was looking straight at Toro.

"Two freebies worm, that's all you get."

Toro took a quick stance and launched another assault, leading with his left, his pessimistic side wasn't surprised to feel his opponent grab his outstretched fist and jerk it back. Before he knew it, Toro was in a hold with the guy bending his arm back, back, back, until Toro was sure his arm was about to free itself from his body.

"Yeah…you like that, don'cha? Tell me you do…" the taller man almost cooed in Toro's ear. Lost in the immense agony he was in Toro didn't hear Hiro attempting to pull rank and stop the fight.

"Sung!" a voice yelled. All was silent. The audience froze in mid cheers and even Hiro was taken aback. Toro for his part was grateful, the second he heard his mans apparent name called he felt the grip on his arm loosen slightly. And then with nary a warning he was released completely.

Bringing his arm back around to a normal position Toro ignored the pain long enough to notice that everyone in the war balloon was looking in the same direction, just past him. Looking behind, Toro found the source.

Ishe Yamanaka. Sitting, legs folded, sipping some tea. He got up and walked, more like jackbooted, over to Sung who looked as if he was about to have a child through his eyes. Despite a good head and a half taller, Toro was amazed to see that Sung was absolutely terrified of Ishe.

Before any of the soldier's eyes could close Ishe had planted his boot deep into Sung's gut.

The assembled masses let out barely audible gasps as the massive Sung fell to his knees and assumed an upright fetal position. Ishe regarded him with a cold stare. Then, he turned to face Hiro.

"Please," Ishe said, who then surprised everyone as he dropped to his knees and bowed. "Please forgive Sung. And me as well."

All faces turned to Hiro, the commanding officer. Surprised that his rank now actually meant something, he spoke.

"…of course…compose yourself and see that it doesn't happen again." Ishe nodded from the floor and slowly stood up. Glaring down at Sung, he spat.

"Get up." he said curtly. Sung did as he was told and struggled to stand again. Ishe then turned to face Toro.

"Please accept my apology…" Ishe said extending his hand.

"Toro," Toro said.

"Toro, I am truly sorry."

Toro, the fire nation grunt, looked from Ishe to his hand and then back to Ishe again. With some amount of hesitation Toro began to raise his hand to meet his fellow soldier's.

Just as the hands were to about to grasp one another something collided with the war balloon creating a massive impact and shaking the entire craft. Most everyone fell to the floor.

"Damn it, what's going on, pilot?" Hiro yelled as he shuffled to his feet.

"Earth benders sir, they're launching surface to air boulders at us!" one of the pilots screamed back.

Toro and Ishe rose at the same time.

"Nice to meet you, we should talk…if you survive." Ishe remarked to Toro with a smile that he couldn't quite read.

From outside, the war balloon was being assaulted with projectile boulders. One after the other, the massive rocks pounded away at the metal exterior of the ship. It was then with a great bellowing and shudder, that one of the stone weapons collided with and punctured the balloon proper of the craft.

"Emergency landing-" some of the pilots yelled, the others were being restrained from jumping off the ship.

"Once we hit ground, jump out fire bending, this is it!" Hiro bellowed.

Seconds later, the war balloon made impact.

-To Be Continued.


	3. Chapter 3

The Line

Chapter Three

The war balloon had gone down in flames, ironic given its nation of origin, and this fact was not lost on the more theatrical minded of the platoon. But, as this thought quickly passed through the minds of the soldiers so to did the situation at hand.

They were shot down in enemy territory and the other war balloons weren't faring much better. Pretty soon the entire invading Fire Nation force would be caught in the jungles of the southern Earth Kingdom.

Toro and his platoon fled the flaming remains of the war balloon and tore into the jungle. The encroaching darkness of their surroundings did not strike the soldiers as pleasant in anyway. It was absorbing, tempting in its own way. Despite the rarity of Fire Army desertion one might see the temptation in escaping into those jungles, to be a part of something so large yet so intimate. Toro felt a smack in the back of his head.

"Don't let it get to you babe, it's too early for that." a burly and quite wide soldier told Toro.

"What's that?" Toro asked, all the while amazed that this fat man was able to keep pace with the slimmer troops.

"'The Call', that urge to drop it and go, don't want to be like Jeong-Jeong, do you?" the soldier asked. Toro felt his eyebrows rise. Jeong-Jeong. The great Fire Nation deserter. He whose name is to be spoken only in whispers.

"N-no, of course not." Toro said. Turning his gaze from the soldier to the crowd around himself, he attempted to find Hiro, or Ishe, or even that raberoo-ass Sung, but to no avail. The jungles were too thick and there were simply too many people.

"Down!" a voice screeched somewhere from the front. All of the Fire nation soldiers dropped to the ground as a rain of boulders fell through the jungle canopy and onto the jungle's floor.

"Shit!" Toro yelled. A boulder had nearly crushed him but instead had taken the guy in front of him, crushing his legs. Toro lifted the mask of his helmet and immediately wished he didn't.

The young soldier's legs had been smashed and splintered like brittle wood in hailstorm. With a turn Toro saw that the blood had splashed like paint on the boulder and on his own chest.

"Oh…Agni…" Toro said in a way much too feminine for his taste. The bile rose quickly and he vomited.

It was only after he had emptied his stomach that Toro finally noticed the screams…the soldier was still alive. Screaming, yellowing, screeching, bellowing, he was thrashing beneath the rock with little sense of rationality. This was evidenced by his clawing at the point where his leg met boulder.

"Help me! Help me! For the love of Agni help me!" the soldier kept going, the tears running and mixing with the blood dripping out of multiple orifices.

"Someone help me with this rock!" Toro yelled, not knowing or simply not acknowledging the fact that the soldier was more or less dead to rights.

"Babe, forget it! Lets go! Keep going to the front!" the fat soldier yelled to Toro, trying to pull him out of his fear induced stupor.

"Ishe, help me!" the soldier cried out. Upon hearing the name Toro turned to see the famed up and coming soldier standing above the fallen man. Ishe flashed a quick set of hands and before Toro could blink the part of the young soldier that wasn't under the boulder was quickly enveloped by white hot flames. His screams were quickly silenced as his lungs dissolved into ash.

Ishe turned to Toro and the fat soldier. Nodding towards them he quickly took off running back into the jungle.

Toro took a step forward. He tried another but soon found his legs had become like a blubber fish's.

"Hey, you alright?" the fat soldier asked. Toro didn't respond. His last waking thoughts were of the fat soldier, who screamed his name: Tompha, standing over him and shaking.

…

He was suddenly back with his father in their meager house in the Fire Nation capitol. Toro was looking over the dagger his father had fashioned for him.

"This is…nice." Toro said.

"I know it's not what you wanted but…I…" his father Toshi, had trailed off.

"No, it's fine. As good a sendoff as any I guess." Toro mumbled, spinning the knife and sticking in his regulation soldier's armor.

"You're…sure about this?" Toshi asked.

"About what…the army?"

The silence held between them as if it were the walls of Ba Sing Se.

Toshi put down his smithy tools with a sigh. He glanced towards his sole child. Toro couldn't help but notice the dark smudges beneath his father's eyes. Ash and grime that had and would never leave his skin from the years toiling in the smith.

"What you're doing is idiotic. Why join the army? Why get yourself killed?" Toshi asked.

Toro thought about lying, about spouting some nationalistic nonsense about pride in his nation or the absolute honor it would be to die for the Fire Nation royal family. But he opted for something else.

"I'm a fire bender dad."

"Not much of one, you're certainly no prodigy." Toshi mumbled.

"Believe me, I know." Toro mumbled back.

"Then why go?!" his father yelled. Toro was surprised, to say the least. His father was a man of few actions and fewer words. And emotion rarely factored into any of Toro's and his father's interactions. "Why be a soldier? Where's the meaning in that? Have you even thought this through?"

In truth Toro hadn't. The idea of being a soldier had appealed to him only in the quite short term goal that it would get him some action with the fairer sex. He hadn't expected there to be a full force call up of all able bodied (and registered) soldiers.

"Dad I…" Toro said. He was looking at his regulation Fire Army boots. Then, peering up into the bloodshot eyes of his father, which hung loosely above his darkened and wrinkled parchment skin. "I just…don't care."

"About what?" Toshi asked, sitting down, defeated.

"I don't know."

"The war, this country…" Toshi began. "Your own life."

Toro clenched his fist, a flame dying in his palm.

…

Toro felt a cold wetness crash into his face. His eyes fluttered open and he sputtered out air.

"…what happened?" he muttered. Feeling the top of his scalp he noticed that his helmet was missing. Tompha was standing over him.

"Back among the living dead?" he said with a smirk crossing his dark beard.

"Not by choice," Toro said rising. Tompha quickly made room for him by stepping aside. Looking around, Toro was quickly able to surmise that he and Tompha were in a hastily erected medical tent. "How far are we from the front?" Toro asked.

"Don't know, at this point it could be anywhere in any direction, ya get me?" Tompha answered.

"Yeah," Toro said. "Agni…" he muttered at the frenzied mess occurring all around him. Medics and healers were running from one patient to the next, doing their damndest to keep everyone alive, or at the very least in one piece. Toro began walking, stepping over other bodies and bloodied mattresses as he went. He had never smelled anything so horrible.

"…my name's Tompha by the way," Tompha said.

"I know, your name was the last thing I heard." Toro said with a small smile. "Not that I don't appreciate it but why did you save me?"

"Out of the goodness of my heart?" Tompha said, almost in an offer. He then laughed boisterously. "I was scared shitless to go to the front! You were my excuse!"

Toro chuckled a bit. In the back of his head he was thankful for this bit of levity as he knew the next few hours would promise few if any.

Reaching for a helmet with a functioning mask, Toro followed Tompha in putting the helmet on.

"Where's Hiro-uh Sergeant Hiro?" Toro asked.

"He's where we're going," Tompha said, running off into the jungles. Toro looked on after him, taking in the orange and red flashes emanating from the trees and jungle proper. This along with the sound of massive rocks and boulders smashing echoing far off into the distance told Toro of what he had to expect.

"I don't care…about my war." Toro said to no one, running off after Tompha. He quickly fell in with a bunch of other Fire Nation shoulders, rushing into the fray.

-To Be Continued.


	4. Chapter 4

The Line

Chapter Four

No one had ever put much stock into the old fortresses of the Southern Earth Kingdom. Not even the Earth Kingdom and certainly not the Fire Nation. But the 62nd Platoon needed target otherwise they may have survived for the new year. And the Fire Nation royal family and accompanying tacticians couldn't have that.

Toro currently found himself with three other Fire Bender soldiers, squaring off against five Earth Benders.

"Tighten up that defense!" yelled one of the Earth Benders. Judging from the loudness of his voice Toro surmised that he was the captain of the group.

"Heads up," Tompha boomed from behind Toro. Toro snapped out of his analysis and dove to the right as a series of mid sized rocks rained down from the night sky of the jungle.

"You alright babe? Don't want you feinting on me again." Tompha said, letting lose a cluster of fire balls at the Earth Benders who promptly raised an earthen wall to block.

"That won't happen…" Toro said, kicking up his leg in a sweeping arc trailing fire behind it to shatter an incoming rock with his boot. "Not again."

"Good to hear," Tompha said. "Hey, you ever been with an Earth Kingdom girl?" he asked.

"What?" Toro asked, bewildered by the question. So distracted was he that it took the sound of an Earth Kingdom soldier being set on fire to draw his attention back. "Is this really the time?"

"If not now, when?" Tompha asked. Toro felt something hit his shin. Pulled, he fell to the ground and was dragged towards a pair of the opposing soldiers. "Toro!"

Toro quickly looked down and noticed that one of the Earth Benders had shaped a long rock into a hook and had snagged his leg with it. With a swift kick to the rock, Toro leaped back onto his feet only to have a massive boulder being launched right at him.

"Damn it," Toro murmured, "where the hell are the prodigies?!" he screamed at no one, bringing his hands into formation and launching a wave of flame against the boulder. Unfortunately he only succeeded in burning the boulder a bit. Using all the strength he could muster Toro squatted down and leaped forward, twisting in the air as he did inches beneath the flying rock.

Having caught the Earth Kingdom soldiers momentarily by surprise Toro pumped his fists sending a flurry of fireballs at them, causing the pair to split in opposite directions.

Rising, Toro decided in a heartbeat to pursue the one who he assumed to be the captain.

"Damn it," the assumed captain cursed as he spotted Toro running at him.

Toro attempted a kick only to have the captain block it with his arm. Bringing up his other leg in a fiery sweep, Toro was again blocked, this time by a miniature earthen shield that the captain created. Before he could comprehend, Toro was on his back again. In the corner of his eye, Toro saw the other soldier he had been fighting charge at him…only to have Tompha suddenly step in front of him effectively blocking his path.

"Come on, show these dirt herders!" Tompha screamed gathering air in his palms and igniting his fists. He charged his opponent who fell back and put up a barrier to block the upcoming assault.

In his own battle, Toro was able to dodge a dirt coffin that the captain had tried to form around him from the jungle floor. Toro then stomped a booted foot in front of him and jacked his right fist forward sending a long stream of flame at his opponent.

The captain in response forced the earth beneath him to rise. Catapulting into the air the captain pulled back his arm and brought out several other rocks from the ground after him. He quickly gathered them around himself and sent them shattering downward on the Fire Nation soldiers. Toro felt one of the mid sized rocks belt him in the chin. Already he could sense that a few of his teeth had loosened and that blood was trickling from his now split lip.

As the captain landed back on the ground Toro realized with horror that the captain hadn't even been dueling with him all that time…he had been fighting two of the soldiers around him…and had promptly dropped them both to the ground, sucking them into the Earth up to their necks.

Toro looked back at his fallen comrades and then rushed at the captain again. His attention now fully on him, the captain shifted the stones beneath him and used it to flip himself over the running Toro. The Fire Bender skid to a stop in the dirt, raising his arms into a high X shaped block intercepting the captain's punch. Back on the ground again, Toro kicked at the captain only to have himself blocked again. The two traded punches, kicks and holds, and yet another realization dawned on Toro, he was completely outmatched.

Stepping back cut, bruised, and bloodied. Toro put up his arms in a feeble defense. The captain, an older man with a graying beard, stared at him, no where near as worn out.

"The Fire Nation actually sends its children to fight?" he asked.

"I'm no…no child," Toro said between panting breaths.

"I see, you're just inept then…" the captain stomped the ground raising a boulder and launched it at Toro. Though it was only a glancing blow that followed Toro was still thrown from his feet and into the thick trunk of a nearby tree.

His bones rattling beneath his armor, Toro attempted to get up.

"To a meaningless fight," the captain said, raising another boulder above Toro's head.

"Cheers…you horse-donkey's ass." Toro responded. The colors around Toro's eyes were swimming and bleeding into each other. Noises of men and creatures being crushed, squished, burned, charred, Toro was even sure he heard lightning sail past over head. This was it, death would be quick and painful. Just what a Fire Nation monster, or rather just he, deserved. Everything coalesced, the captain was outlined by the glow of battle. Toro could taste the sweat beading on the captain's forehead, he could smell the odor of sulfur and burnt rock, their blood ran as one on the jungle floor.

Just as the boulder began to fall, Hiro placed himself betwixt it and Toro. Breathing in deeply (and quickly) and bringing his hands towards the boulder palms facing outward, the boulder exploded from the ensuing infernal blaze.

"H-hiro?" Toro asked. Hiro turned to him.

"Toro!" Hiro yelled. Toro nodded and rushed out beneath Hiro. Reaching into his sleeve he withdrew the flimsy dagger his father had given him.

The captain, still dodging the fiery remains of the rock, looked on in a wide eye stare as he saw Toro rushing towards him.

Leaping up, Toro slammed the dagger into the side of the captain's neck. He then twisted it and pulled it out with a sickening _slink_ noise accompanying it's exit.

The captain looked on with a suddenly faraway gaze. His brown eyes were quickly fading, turning duller and duller as he seemed to be looking at some invisible point on a horizon so far off, yet right in front of his eyes.

He collapsed with the blood squirting out onto the ground, being slowly sopped up by the leaves and vines.

"Come on Toro," Hiro said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "The Earth Benders are massing in retreat, we need to cut them off."

"Yes…yeah right, sir." Toro said shaking his head, unlocking his gaze from the captain's dead eyes.

"Not too bad for new mean, babe." Tompha said as he dropped two charred corpses on the ground. Toro looked at him unsure of how to respond. His stomach was too empty to allow him to vomit, so he instead just nodded and took off following Hiro. Tompha took off after them.

…

Meanwhile, up at the front, near where two of the Southern Earth Kingdom fortresses were situated, the battle was being fought in earnest. With the night wearing thin and the rising sun fast approaching, the Earth Kingdom soldiers were hard pressed to finish this battle as soon as possible lest the sun give their fire based enemies the edge.

Though hard fought. The skirmishes were nearing their end, the Earth Kingdom soldiers were being slowly but assuredly driven back into the jungle.

When Hiro, Tompha, and Toro arrived at the front, the Fire Nation troops already there were in perfect formation, augmenting and extending the range of each others attacks to penetrate and burn through the Earth Soldier's defenses.

"Good, the formations are working…" Hiro said to himself. Kicking aside a few Earth Soldier Lance Men, Hiro sent streams of fire into the clumps of opposing troops forcing them to scatter and scale back. Toro and Tompha, their backs to each other, united their stances in perfect unison sending out an extended flame spray that covered the jungle for nearly fifty feet forward.

"So what do you think of your first war?" Tompha asked. Toro broke from their stance and was able to draw a dual sword from a fallen soldier.

"I look forward to the brothels," Toro muttered in response. Tompha laughed loudly, crashing together two Earth soldier's skulls as he did.

The fighting went on and the tide continued to turn in favor of the Fire Nation. More and more of the bodies piling up on the ground were charred corpses as opposed to smashed ones.

At some point Toro was separated from Tompha and Hiro and quickly found that he was lost in the thick of battle in the densest darkest part of the jungle. Save the frequent flashings of fire and clashing blades to light his way temporarily, Toro could only make out what was in front of him in short bursts of time. Feeling somewhat dizzied and lightheaded, Toro extended a hand forward and felt what he assumed to be the trunk of a tree. Leaning back against the tree, Toro stared up, trying for the life of him to somehow see through the thick foliage above him to the starry sky above.

A whishing sound.

Toro ducked, and a fraction of a second later a three pronged bladed weapon attached to a chain flew over his head, completely severing the thick trunk of the tree he had been leaning on like a sword cutting down stalks of fresh wheat. Lifting his head to inspect the trunk, Toro noticed that it was glowing, no, simmering was more like as the chained weapon had been ignited.

"…someone dodged? You dirt pushers aren't all that fragile I guess." loud and arrogant, scarred and venal, Toro recognized that voice.

"Sung!" he cried out.

"Ah, so you've heard of me," he was whirling his weapon above his head, and with a flick of his wrist he sent it out flying again towards Toro. "I'm **honored**." The trident blade again sailed past Toro by bare inches, leaving a burning singe mark on his shoulder. Toro cried out.

"It's me you dunce!" Toro cried out again.

Sung ventured through the underbrush and squinted. A fiery flash lit up the area. Sung locked eyes with Toro. Toro saw a look of animalistic intent in that one moment of visual connection, Sung wasn't smiling, wasn't frowning, he was fully comprehending devouring Toro.

"That's enough…Sung," another familiar voice stated. A smaller figure appeared next to Sung, carrying and quickly dropping a dead Earth Soldier's body. "Can't you tell friend from foe?" Ishe said.

"Ishe…" Toro said.

"Toro," Ishe said, acknowledging him. "Again I have to apologize for Sung."

"That's fine, fine." Toro said following the retreating Ishe. As he passed Sung, the two locked eyes again. Sung spit on the ground.

"I'm glad," Ishe said, Toro thought to no one for a moment until he realized he was talking to him. "You're alive, I was afraid that you had fallen. Good thing I underestimated you." Ishe remarked with a small smile. Toro blinked.

"T-thank you." he said.

"You think you're up to this, after that little spell you had?" Sung said, his tone cold.

"I said I was fine," Toro sneered looking back at the following Sung. "But thanks for the concern." he said just as coldly.

Suddenly, a rustling.

"Look out!" Toro yelled grabbing Ishe and shoving him aside. Without taking a breath, Toro sent a vicious ball of fire sailing into the brush. An Earth Nation archer flailed and cried out.

"It's…a woman?" Sung asked looking at the quickly dying body.

"Agni…" Toro said looking at his smoking fist, unsure if it was actually him that attacked. He then felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Sung staring down at him.

"That's just what you need, that killer instinct. There may be hope for you yet." Toro noticed for the first time the fresh cuts on Sung's face, dripping blood all the way down his armor.

"Lets go," Ishe said. Toro and Sung followed suit into a nearby clearing where a platoon of Earth Kingdom soldiers were being pushed back by their Fire Nation counterparts. Before Toro could take it all in, he saw Ishe moving his arms in a strange formation.

"You may wish to step back," Ishe said, glancing at Ishe and Sung.

"Ah yes, you're in for a treat, watch what's about to happen." Sung said to Toro. Sung walked back, an almost childishly eager look of anticipation on his face. Toro followed suit, feeling an odd sort of reaction to Ishe's stare.

Then, a pale white light lit up the jungle area near Toro and Sung.

From Ishe's finger tips, lightning struck.

Once, four Earth Benders were electrified and burnt to cinders.

Twice, the archers bows were set ablaze and they dropped and ran.

Three times, anyone left behind was enveloped by the forked tongue of the white lightning bolts.

All was silent. Then.

"Retreat!" screamed a voice off in the distance. The Earth Nation promptly dropped any semblance of trying to fight and simply started running back into the jungles around them. Toro marveled as hundreds, possibly thousands of troops ran past he, Ishe, and Sung, looks of panic and terror on their faces.

After a while, there was silence again. Only the cracking and popping of the small and the not so small fires that had been set around the jungle. And then.

"WE WON!" one of the Fire Nation Soldiers cried out. A cheer went out across the Southern Earth Kingdom Jungles. Flames were shot into the air as the 62nd platoon and others celebrated their victory. Masked helmets flew up as well, clanging and crashing into branches as they rose and fell.


	5. Chapter 5

The Line

Chapter Five

After about ten minutes the jubilant celebration concerning the Fire Nation victory subsided. Commanding officers began shouting orders, rallying their troops into their respective regiments, squads, and platoons. Toro overheard his C.O., Hiro, and was about to walk to where the surviving members of his unit were when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Toro," Toro turned, it was Ishe. "I wanted to thank you."

Toro hesitated.

"Thank **me**?"

"That archer, you saved me, I wanted to thank you." Ishe extended his hand. Toro slowly extended his and took Ishe's hand.

"No…problem," Toro said. Ishe nodded. "You, what you did, you shot lightning?"

Ishe looked at him, a quizzical expression on his face.

"It was no big deal," Ishe said. Toro didn't know how to continue the conversation. "Just something I learned."

Ishe gave a small smile which to Toro looked out of place on his angular face. Ishe then bowed slightly and walked off with Sung in tow.

"Don't lose that instinct boy," Sung said with a grin.

Toro watched the pair leave.

"He's really a prodigy," Toro said to himself. "Damn."

"Toro, attention!" Hiro called out. Toro turned on his heel and approached the 62nd platoon.

…

Hours later, after debriefing, Toro, Tompha and the rest of the surviving platoon rushed into a nearby lake. Glancing upwards towards the coast Toro could spy a lakeside town.

Stripping down to their undergarments, the soldiers swarmed the lake.

"Oh, that's gonna bruise up nice babe," Tompha said. "You get that from that captain?"

"Frankly, I don't remember." Toro said with a shrug, touching the shiner that was swelling up beneath his right eye. Not used to being around scantily clad men, Toro closed his eyes as he dunked his head underwater.

"So Toro…what's your story?" Tompha asked, scrubbing some of the cuts crisscrossing his arms.

"What do you mean?"

"Like where are you from, what province, you from the nation or from the colonies?"

"I'm from the kingdom. Father's a blacksmith…a bad one." Toro said. Tompha looked at him and then burst out laughing, then he slapped Toro on the back nearly making him topple over. "How about you?"

"Me? Well I got a wife and a couple of pups back home. I'm a career soldier, plan to be at least. About the only career in the Fire Nation that suits me."

Toro nodded and the two continued to talk. What the new soldier quickly learned about his comrade, he liked to laugh, a lot.

"So, I couldn't help but see you were talking to Ishe…" Tompha said.

"Yeah?"

"Don't 'yeah' me babe, you know how many Fire Nation privates would give their left nut just to get near that guy?"

"No, how many?" Toro asked, Tompha laughed, his massive beard going up and down with his mouth.

"That guy's not like us Toro, when I say I'm going to be a career soldier and that Ishe Yamanaka is going to be a career soldier…that's two different careers there. The guy comes from one of the highest situated families in the Fire Nation, right beneath the royal family."

"He can bend lightning." Toro said absentmindedly, without knowing it he caught himself peering around the lake for Ishe. He soon found him quietly washing himself along with the much louder Sung. Toro noticed the body length tattoo that adorned Sung's body. This in combination with the multiple scars gave him a look that nearly condensed the concept of war to a single person's body.

"He's a prodigy Toro, gonna shoot up the ranks faster then an ostrich-horse in heat. Leave us in the dust."

Toro smirked at this.

"Good for him, good for the Fire Nation," Toro couldn't contain himself any longer. He burst out laughing. Tompha looked at him with a bewildered glance which quickly turned to a confused smile.

…

Later, after dressing into casual robes, the 62nd platoon kneeled in front of their commanding officer.

"This town has kindly offered us food and lodging for the night." Hiro began. He ignored some of the ensuing snickers and laughs that popped up. "Regardless of what some of you may think, we are liberators, not conquerors, and I trust you all to conduct yourself accordingly. That is all." Hiro walked off and after the troops bowed they scattered, some to the town's bars and others went straight to the brothels.

Toro paced, his sandals crunching over the pebbles and rocks of the ground.

"I survived," he thought to himself. "Am I lucky or is this some kind of sign, a sign not to push my fate any further?" Toro wondered. Creating a flame in his palm, he promptly snuffed it out in his fist. He than spit on the ground. "Nonsense, I'm a soldier now."

"Toro?" a familiar voice asked. Turning, Toro saw Hiro.

"Hir-sir?" Toro said slowly getting up to stand at attention.

"At ease at ease." Hiro said, a closed eye smile on his face. "I was looking for you actually, would you care to join me for a drink?"

The two went to a modest looking bar, the wooden floor creaked beneath their feet as they walked in. But this noise was hardly heard over the massive din the Fire Nation soldiers were making. The Earth Nation present either glared, or more often, simply stared down into their drinks. Sitting down, Hiro called over a waitress.

"Rice wine please, cherry." Hiro said with a smile.

"Coming right up." the waitress said, though the look on her face betrayed her emotions so openly that even Toro was able to pick up on it.

"She hates us." Toro said. "Understandable I guess, given what we've done."

"What do you mean?" Hiro asked. Toro stared at him in the eye.

"Are you serious?" Hiro laughed at that.

"I'll have to ask you the same Toro, don't you realize what we've done for these people?"

"We took their town as a consequence of us winning the battle?" Toro guessed.

"In base terms yes. But we've one a victory for the Fire Nation, and in doing so are helping these poor Earth Kingdom people."

"How's that?" Toro asked as the waitress set down their rice wine with two cups.

"These people Toro, they've been living under the rule of a king they've never even seen? Isn't that true?"

"From what I've heard, yes,"

"We come baring a great gift for them. We can teach them that there is a better way, the way of the Fire Nation."

"You mean force them to think like we think?"

"No, not at all. Don't you see? These other nations, the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, they're so completely misguided that it won't be long before the paths they're on lead to their own self-destruction.

"They need us to save them from themselves. Our way is the only way." Hiro said beamingly, his eyes boring straight into Toro's almost daring him to try and come up with a counter-argument.

"Jeez, you really take the rhetoric to heart don't you?" Toro said with a laugh, sipping his rice win. Hiro grinned and followed suit.

"It's what I believe in. My heart is in this war Toro. If necessary I'll make this war my life."

Toro nodded, his eyes closing. Never having had any sort of political discussion with anyone before, Toro was in untested waters. Try and sound smart, or simply agree.

"Cheers." Toro said, he decided to drink instead. Hiro smiled and again followed suit.

After a few more rounds, Toro and Hiro paid their tab and ventured out of the bar, one supporting the other.

"I think you've had enough sir…" Toro stated between hiccups.

"A good soldier -belch-…can hold his liquor like any real man!" Hiro declared before starting to laugh.

The two found their way back to the 62nd platoon camp site. Tompha stood out waiting.

"'Bout time you showed up babe, I was getting worried. Thought you would miss out."

"Miss…out?" Toro asked drunkenly.

"Yeah, I wanted to hit the brothels. Nothing chases a good drink like the taste of a fine woman, eh?" Tompha elbowed Toro. The young soldier looked up at Hiro.

"Go, go," Hiro said unlocking from Toro and straightening his back. "I'll be fine, I have some paperwork to send back the Fire Nation, have some fun."

"You're a good man sir, don't worry I'll take care of our boy here!" Tompha said as he grabbed Toro. Before Toro realized it he and Tompha were in front of a brightly lit building. With the noise and strange odors (not altogether unpleasant) it was apparently a brothel.

"Tompha, I thought you said you were married?" Toro asked. Tompha slapped him on the back.

"Babe, it's a long way from the Fire Nation," he said with a wistful sigh. "Come on, lets go in."

The two entered the brothel and were greeted by two women dressed in elaborate kimonos and face paint.

"Welcome," they said in unison.

"This your first time?" Tompha whispered to Toro.

"Uh…yes, actually." Toro admitted with some amount of shame.

"Don't worry about it, just poke around, have some fun, and don't do anything I wouldn't do.

Tompha, with a big grin on his face, sidled up to two girls and put his arms around both of them causing to break out in a fit of giggles.

"Have fun!" he yelled as he lead the girls into a room and promptly slid the door shut.

Toro gulped. Not only had he never been to a brothel, he had never actually "been" with a woman per se.

Feeling his face beginning to burn up (and not just from all the alcohol he had consumed), Toro walked/stumbled to a nearby room that he guessed was empty. Sliding the door shut behind him, Toro sat in the darkened chamber and slowly took in the room around him.

It was black as pitch save for a shaft of moonlight that was lighting a small area of the room.

Toro blinked and rested his head against a wall. Shutting his eyes, Toro let himself get comfortable. As he did so he felt something shift and move beneath his palm. Looking down, Toro saw that his hand was on a blanket that was covering an object, or body more like.

Slowly, the body writhed under the blanket and rose. And as it fell away Toro realized with a blush that it was a naked woman.

"H-hello." Toro said, looking away.

"Welcome to the Lucky House." she said with a tired look on her face.

"Were you asleep under there?" Toro asked.

"Don't tell the mama-san, please! She's been on my ass for slacking lately." she sat down next to Toro who was doing his damndest not to look away from her face. She was a pretty woman, brown skinned with hair like spun silk trailing down her back. Her eyes were a verdant green like a meadow after a cleansing rain.

"I w-won't," Toro gulped, trying to salvage a little of his masculinity back. "I won't." he repeated.

"Hey thanks." the woman said. Turning her gaze to Toro and noticing the color of his robes, she then said:

"You're Fire Nation aren't you?"

"Yes I am."

"I see, then we lost the battle." she said with a distant look in her eyes.

"I'm…sorry." Toro said sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. The woman then smiled.

"Don't be, I mean to the victor go the spoils, right? This isn't even my country, I'm originally Water Tribe."

"Really…" Toro said trailing off.

The woman then got to her feet. This allowed Toro to drink in her quite striking figure. It wasn't long before a certain part of Toro's anatomy began making itself heard.

"I didn't even want to marry him." the woman said to herself. Toro knew this, but asked anyway.

"Marry who?"

"An Earth Kingdom soldier, one of the squad leaders. Hideki was his name I think."

Toro shuddered a bit. Could it have been the captain he had stabbed in the throat?

"I'm sorry, again." Toro said.

"Don't be, again." the woman said with a smile looking back at Toro. "He had come to visit me a few times, I guess I must've done something right because he kept coming back. After awhile he talked about buying my contract and getting me out so we could marry."

Toro was silent. The woman sighed. Toro couldn't believe his eyes when he noticed drops of water falling from her face.

"Damn it," she said, "I barely knew the guy." she said. Toro got to his feet and paced over to her. He put his hands on her bare shoulders.

"What can I do? Do you want me to leave?"

"…no, I don't…know you either…" she said. Turning, she looked into Toro's eyes. Slowly she leaned in until their lips met. Toro returned the kiss gently. "Help me forget…" she whispered into Toro's ears. Her hands found their way into his robes and were slowly but efficiently removing them.

"I'll…try. This is…my first time…" Toro muttered. The woman smiled before taking his robe off completely.

"We'll both have to be gentle then. My name is Haruka."

"Toro…" their lips met again, and nothing was said for a while, under the soft ivory light of the moon.

-To Be Continued.


	6. Chapter 6

The Line

Chapter Six

The next morning, Haruka was gone. Toro woke up naked under the blanket they had shared. He could still taste her, smell her, a part of him realized that this may always be the case. And another part of him realized that he probably wouldn't be able to find her if he tried.

Glancing up at the window, Toro could see the gray skies outside.

"Looks like rain," he said to no one. He slowly gathered his robes and sandals. After dressing, he exited the room and walked down the hall.

Luckily, none of the girls seemed to notice him as he walked out, each was too busy taking orders from the mama-san to really give him any attention. Clean this, scrub that, pick up that. Apparently the revelry before had left quite the mess and it was up to the girls to clean up.

"Excuse me," Toro tapped a girl on the shoulder who was mopping a portion of the floor.

"Yes?" she asked, looking up. Toro could see that she was young, very young looking to be working in a brothel.

"Have you seen Haruka?" going against instinct and wondering why he suddenly cared whether or not the girl was too young or not, or if she was even Earth Kingdom, Toro inquired.

"Haruka…hmm…no I think she's out right now, hold on-" she straightened her back and called out to another girl. "Hey Shino, do you know where Haruka is?"

The other girl, Shino apparently, responded negatively.

"You could leave your name if you want I can see-"

"That's alright." Toro said waving her off. With nary a look back he exited the brothel.

Feeling the early morning chill, Toro crossed his arms and increased his pace.

Damn, this place looks different in the daytime, Toro thought. The welcoming atmosphere of the previous night, the jubilation over the great Fire Nation victory. It all felt like a distant dream now. Everything seemed possible, even dare he think it, magical in some way. It was probably the rice wine, Toro guessed. The sex didn't hurt either.

But now, the town felt as pointless and trivial as anything else. Women were no longer the tempting objects of desire and lust. Now they were just working, old looking frumps going here and there to buy food or help their equally unattractive husbands till the land.

Passing by the lake, Toro spied many fishermen casting out their lines into the murky waters.

"Toro!" Toro looked up upon hearing his name. It was Tompha. "Hey babe, enjoy your night?" Tompha asked while elbowing him in the ribs.

"Yeah yeah, just keep your voice down," Toro said, rubbing his throbbing forehead. "I don't really remember much." Tompha looked him up and down.

"Yeah that'll happen. Good to see you survived your first brothel experience, you're closer now than ever to being a real man." Tompha said declaratively. Toro harrumphed.

"Gee, thanks **dad**." Tompha laughed at that, the sound of the laughter cut through Toro's head like a fiery blade through an old oak. "Any word regarding…?" Toro asked inclining his head towards the base camp.

"Wha-orders? Nah, most of the camp's still asleep. I'm a freak, an early riser. Don't worry you'll probably be able to sleep off your headache, can't do too much training in the rain." Tompha said tightening an armor strap on his wrist. Toro nodded and proceeded past him towards his tent.

True to Tompha's word, most of the rest of the camp was still fast asleep. Either sleeping off an excess of the drink or from staying up too late entertaining some feminine company, the majority of the 62nd platoon were out cold. Toro noticed Hiro in his tent, filling out some paperwork to be attached to a nearby messenger hawk. Hiro acknowledged him with a wave and returned to his work.

Returning to his tent, Toro slowly got into his sleeping bag. Still tasting Haruka on his lips Toro was about to let the warm embrace of sleep claim him, his eyelids feeling more like lead with each passing second, when he heard something.

Turning and shifting in his sleeping bag Toro lost hope for any kind of slumber and instead gave in to his curiosity. Stepping out from his tent Toro looked this way and that, trying to locate the source of the noise. It was odd. A snapping, popping, like a massive tongue of flames just beginning to reach out and taste the skies.

Toro followed the noise until he was at the very edge of the lake, near where the jungles began. It was there he saw it, two figures sparring in the water up to their shins, fire bending back and forth.

Ishe and Sung.

The two were gently tossing a single fireball back and forth. More than that, Toro noticed that every time the flame passed from one of the men to the other they quietly struck a stance which was then quickly mirrored by the other person.

Coming closer, Toro also saw that the pair had their eyes closed as they were conducting their training. Toro walked a little closer and, not wanting to disturb the two, sat on the soft dirt some distance off.

The training continued for a few minutes. To Toro the witness it was almost relaxing in its monotony. But then seemingly without provocation, the fireball went from being gently tossed back and forth to being thrown and pitched like an errant stone. Over the next few seconds the pace sped up even more, with the two still striking elaborate training stances every time the fireball was thrown from their outstretched hands.

With each passing of the flame, the ball of fire increased in size and (Toro guessed) in intensity and it wasn't long before he saw the visible strain that handling the flame and striking those elaborate stances was reeking on their bodies.

Finally, Sung returned the fireball and his arms dropped. Falling to a knee, it was now clear that he was finished with the exercise. Ishe was now on his own. Wasting no time, he began rotating the fireball around his body as if he were a human planet and the fireball was a comet that had haplessly been caught in its field of influence. All the while he continued striking the elaborate poses again and again and again until Toro could discern a visible pattern in the stances.

Lifting his foot, Ishe brought it down in a stomp into the water beneath him. Splashing, Ishe focused and brought his body into a particular stance. At this point the fire had turned from orange/red to pure sugar white. Covering him almost like an aura, Ishe pointed his pointer and middle fingers to the heavens and unleashed a shock white serpentine bolt of lightning into the gray skies.

All was silent. Toro could hear the Raven-Crows sounding off in the trees (the few that had remained on the branches that is). The white flames quickly dissipated from around Ishe.

"Lookin's for free, there's a surcharge for repeat performances though," Toro was snapped back to attention to see Sung walking towards him out of the lake.

"He makes it look so damn easy," Toro said.

"How do you think I feel? He covers in days what it takes me years to get down. Agni, I have to push myself extra hard just to be his training partner."

Toro nodded simultaneously amazed that he was having what could pass as a civil conversation with a man who just the night previous had been practically bathing in the blood of his fallen enemies.

"I take it you two are talking about me?" Ishe asked. Grabbing his shirt and towel, he wiped his forehead.

"Only in the highest regards of course," Sung said, bowing at the waist. He then hit Toro in the chest signaling him to do the same. Toro unfortunately didn't take the hint.

"You're of the Yamanaka's, right?" he asked. Ishe put his shirt on and began walking.

"Would you walk with me Toro?" he asked. Toro glanced around, his gaze settled on Sung who looked as confused as he felt.

Toro began to walk after Ishe. But before being completely out of earshot, Toro could distinctly hear Sung spit in the lake.

"Your friend Sung is quite-"

"He's not my friend. Lets make that clear first off." Ishe cut through Toro's speech. "He's a family appointed bodyguard, frankly I'll be glad to be rid of him."

"He seems to like you," Toro stated. Ishe smirked as he bent down and picked up a stone. He then skipped it across the lake's surface.

"Of course he does, everyone likes Ishe…" he skipped another stone. "Yamanaka."

The air hung heavy between them. Ishe tossed a stone up and down in his hand for a while.

"I can think of worse things then having people like you, having to fight a war for instance," Toro picked up a stone and tossed it. It landed with a splash and a thunk in the water, sinking into its azure depths. "Damn." Toro muttered as his stone sank like…well, a stone.

"Too true," Ishe said, suppressing a small laugh. "In the larger scheme of things my little annoyances don't amount to much in this world. That's kind of reassuring in a way."

Toro and Ishe stood at the banks of the lake, the breeze lightly kissing them both, sending divine little ripples in the lake off into the distance. They stood silently. Ishe turned to Toro.

"You were asking about my family?" Ishe said at last.

Toro took a breath. This was an issue that had to be handled with the utmost sensitivity and tact.

"You're related to Jeong-Jeong aren't you?" Toro asked, the words escaped his lips before he could control himself. Toro slapped his forehead. This was **the** issue regarding the Yamanaka family.

"Yes, he was…is my grandfather," Ishe said without any discernible emotion. Toro tossed another rock only to have it sink again. Ishe skipped another.

"Then the rumors regarding…" Toro began.

"We received the last name as part of a deal marrying into the Yamanaka clan."

"A noble family."

"Yes,"

Again, there was silence.

"Do you mind if I ask you something Ishe?" Toro asked. Ishe nodded in the positive. "You're a fire bending prodigy, why do you need a bodyguard?" Ishe smirked and again had to suppress a laugh.

"I **need** a bodyguard like Ba Sing Se needs wooden walls," Ishe said. Toro laughed slightly. Ishe continued. "My family assigned Sung to me as a protection for their _investment_."

"Investment?"

"I guess you don't understand some of the finer aspects of high society." Ishe said.

"I guess I don't," Toro said to himself. Again, he sunk another stone. "Damn it!" he yelled pounding his fist above the ground. Flames erupted from his fist and licked the sand, turning it to bits of glass. Ishe turned to look at him.

"It's in the wrist," he said, "like this." he demonstrated, flicking his wrist and skipping the stone several times. Toro took another stone and flicked his wrist. The stone skipped twice before sinking.

"We're born to breed. And in doing so hopefully increase the status of the family around us. Being a prodigy was just an unexpected…perk so to speak." Ishe stated.

"I see," Toro said, thinking to himself how oddly similar the life of a peasant was to a noble. You live to breed. Hope to live long enough to pass on your weak kneed genes.

"Now that the Avatar is dead the Fire Nation is almost assured of it's victory," Ishe said.

"You sound less than thrilled,"

"War is a business transaction for the rich and powerful. My family was against my joining the army at such a low rank, but I wanted to feel like I earned something in my life," Ishe sighed. "I'm sorry I don't mean to bore you with my problems."

"That's fine, maybe I can brag to someone one day that Ishe of the Yamanakas whined to me." Toro said. Ishe looked at him and then burst out laughing. Toro was surprised to say the least to hear an elite soldier laugh. He then joined in.

"Toro I-" Ishe began but was cut off by a shrill whistle.

The two glanced towards the source of the noise. It was Hiro. The pair began walking back towards base camp.

"I enjoyed this time together, you're probably the first person so far to treat me like a person and not as…a potential promotion." Ishe said.

"I'm not the promotion type, trust me."

Arriving back at base camp the two immediately saw that most of the soldiers had been roused from their sleep and were strapping their armor and masked helmets on.

"Sir, what's going on?" Ishe asked Hiro.

"Messenger hawk just arrived from the Fire Nation with our orders, we move against the next Earth Kingdom fortress in an hour, get yourselves ready." Hiro said, eyeing Toro oddly before retreating into his tent.

-To Be Continued

A/N: Not a lot of action I know. But trust me things are about to heat up soon! Hoped you enjoyed this chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

The Line

Chapter Seven

The 62nd platoon had moved out from its hastily set up base camp, much to the relief of the Earth Kingdom town they had been staying in. Toro, Tompha, and the rest of the soldiers were in full armor, though a few seasoned vets had removed their helmets due to the cloying and sticky heat in the air.

"Damn it's hot," Tompha said, rubbing his wrist against his forehead. Marching next to him, Toro could practically feel the sweat rub off from Tompha's forehead and onto his wrist armor. While the sun wasn't visible the heat in conjunction with the humidity was mercilessly weighing on the soldiers, giving their armor seemingly more bulk and mass for them to heft. Up above the skies were gray, but the troops couldn't see it save for the few in the back of the regiment who had to play catch-up. Leaving the valley of the town and entering the lush jungle, the view of the sky was cut off by the giant limbs of the tropical trees which seemed to snuff out the entire world outside its borders.

Orders were as follows: march out to the borders of the next fortress and meet up with the 51st and 102nd platoons. Await the noon when the sun is at its peak, when the troops fire bending would be at its zenith, and attack. Simple, cut, and dry. Like a thin piece of dry wood about to be thrown into a furnace, the fortress stood within the jungle.

"I hear that the 102nd is a coed unit," one of the troops to Toro's side said.

"Yeah?" Toro asked.

"Ah, Fire Nation women, real women!" Sung bellowed from the front of the procession. "What do you think, Ishe?" Sung asked. Ishe grunted something in reply and kept walking. It was then that Hiro, out in front leading the 62nd platoon, turned on his heel and faced the rest of the soldiers.

"This is not leave for us!" he projected so that the entire platoon could hear him. "We are here to fight on our Nation's behalf and I expect you to treat our fellow soldiers with respect." Hiro said.

"Spoil sport," Tompha muttered with a grin. He then looked at Toro. "What's on your mind babe?" Toro glanced back and responded.

"Not too much…it's just…this next battle I guess," he said. "I feel like I got lucky the first time."

"Well…you did." Tompha said staring straight into Toro's eyes. Feeling a bit crestfallen, Toro clenched his fist.

"Not this time, if I die I die without assistance…I don't need my ass bailed out," Toro said staring right back at the larger Tompha. Tompha smirked and gently smacked Toro on the back.

"Babe, you got to get out of your own head, or pull it out of your ass. I mean, it's just war!" Tompha started laughing loudly at his own joke. Toro nodded, not quite sure if he fully understood his friend's words. He then took a moment to stare at the troops around him. All dressed uniformly, all marching, practically in step without knowing it. Damn it, to Toro it was now becoming almost comforting. How could that be?

He supposed that it was better than his life back in the Fire Nation. Here he had made some friends. He had something to drive him, something in which to live or die for. Strangely, the idea of death didn't seem itself to be so comforting anymore. He wasn't so assured of it now, or more precisely, he had something that made death seem almost unappealing. A reason to live?

Not quite.

Toro felt a flame escape his hand. He clenched his fist and suffocated it.

"Company, halt!" Hiro ordered. The platoon stopped in the middle of the jungle. For a few moments all was silent save the chirping of some sparrow-keets and various other flora and fauna. Toro felt uneasy. The same temptation was in the jungle as before. The temptation to just disappear behind a tree or under a rock, to forever be apart from everything. From nations and benders and-

Seemingly materializing from nothing, armored Fire Nation soldiers appeared in the forest, practically melting into view from the back of the 62nd's collective peripheral vision.

Two soldiers walked out from the head of the two platoons. One a well built woman and the other a bald man who had a mask on without a helmet.

"Hiro," said the woman.

"Nalia, good to see you, Xiu?" Hiro nodded at the masked man who raised a hand in acknowledgement.

"Heard you took a fortress in a night. Should I feel bad I only took two in three days?" Nalia asked with a competitive smirk. Hiro smiled.

"I suppose we'll just have to play catch-up then?" Hiro said, looking right into Nalia's emerald green eyes. The two shared a look for a minute until Xiu made a remark.

"Noon's coming up soon," he said, his voice made somewhat hollow and metallic sounding by his mask. Nalia and Hiro glanced at him and nodded.

"Alright, you have the next few minutes to prepare yourself in anyway you see fit, we march in ten minutes!" Hiro yelled, Nalia and Xiu gave similar orders to their respective battalions.

"That's Nalia, one of the highest ranking female officers in the Fire Nation ground forces." Tompha remarked to Toro as he kneeled to adjust his boot.

"The head of the 102nd platoon. Never would've guessed," Toro said. Not that he wasn't the most progressive thinking mind of the modern ages (he wasn't) but Toro was still surprised that a woman could reach such heights in the male dominated military. Toro felt little to nothing, she was his superior like Hiro was, a different entity in most respects, the important ones at least. She was attractive. But then, anything that could fill out armor in the right places struck Toro as somewhat sexy.

"Toro," Toro turned to see Hiro approaching him.

"Yes, sir?" Toro asked.

"Toro, I wanted to talk about something with you," Hiro said. "It's about-"

"What? The last battle? Don't worry sir I won't need help this time," Toro said, mentally adding that he could at least die on his own without help.

"On that note, here, take this," Hiro said taking out a sheathed sword.

"What for?" Toro asked, not used to receiving gifts and never enjoying the experience whenever he did.

"Don't feel like I'm singling you out, I'm giving to all recruits whose bending abilities aren't…" Hiro trailed off bound by the chains of tact and unable to say what he meant. Toro took the initiative.

"Whose abilities are stunted sir?" Toro asked. Tompha laughed.

"I don't want any of my soldiers out in the field without the utmost protection. Besides…I wanted to talk about something with you, you too Tompha." Hiro said. Tompha looked down at Hiro, his eyes at attention despite the considerable height difference between them.

"We've received some intelligence that the earth benders in this area have mastered their abilities in somewhat…creative ways."

Toro suddenly envisioned new and more amusing ways for him to die. He was brought back from his thoughts when Hiro clamped a hand on his shoulder.

"Stay safe, and tell all the other soldiers you see what I told you. Keep your eyes open and your heads down." Hiro smiled and then added. "For the Great Nation." he murmured before walking off to discuss tactics with the other two commanding officers.

"What was that about?" Toro asked.

"He cares Toro." Tompha said. "Maybe a bit too much for a commanding officer."

"Rather heartless don't you think?"

"Look babe, I like to kid, but war is war. We don't need a den mother out here." Tompha said. This was the first time Toro had heard Tompha use such a serious tone of voice.

The next few minutes were languid, going by slowly. When the march was pushed back because the time of noon was "slightly miscalculated", the troops had to find ways to amuse themselves without giving away their position to the Earth Kingdom fortress just some miles away.

Toro walked around. He saw some soldiers talk, others brood, some pray, he noticed some of the men and women sneaking off to do what he assumed he had done the previous night. The whole situation felt so fragile. A house of glass poised on the edge of a cliff.

"Mount up!" a commanding officer called out. The voice was unfamiliar to Toro so he assumed it was Xiu. Somewhere off in the distance he heard the whinnying of ostrich horses. Those of upper rank didn't have to walk on their own two feet.

The soldiers began to collectively move forward, slowly at first.

Hiro was with Nalia, Toro noticed. He wondered idly if there was something between them. Sighing, Toro rubbed the sweat from his forehead and wished he was back in the brothel where the heat there was at least of the pleasurable variety.

A rumble.

Toro froze. Was that an earthquake? The Fire Nation soldiers stopped in their tracks and looked around the humid gray mists of the jungle.

"Oh shit…" one of the soldiers said. A collective realization dawned on the soldiers.

"They're in the ground!" another soldier shouted before being impaled on a stalagmite that emerged from the ground in the blink of an eye. Hoisted in the air, the rock went through his throat and spouted up through the top of his head spraying blood and brains all over the soldiers closest to him. Before he could scream dozens of other obelisks erupted from the Earth and stabbed multiple other soldiers.

Toro felt the ground beneath him shift and morph, jumping, he narrowly dodged a sharp pillar of stone that flew up past him. Hitting the ground, Toro felt a hand emerge from the Earth and grab his throat.

He began to be pulled into the dirt.

Dirt was filling his every sense. It was in his mouth, ears, nose, eyes, it wasn't long before it was filling his lungs. What felt like thousands of hands were groping him, tearing at him, ripping off pieces of his armor and puncturing the skin beneath. Toro jerked his right arm nearly out of his shoulder socket breaking the grip of four arms encircling it.

Panicking, his arm went wild, grabbing this way and that until by the bless of Agni it found it's way to the handle of the sword that Hiro gave him. Silently thanking Hiro and hoping that he would be blessed with a thousand children, Toro withdrew the sword from its sheath and brought it into a wide arc, cutting and slashing at some of the limbs around him.

Beginning to taste blood that he hoped wasn't his Toro felt the several grips on his body begin to loosen. Kicking both his feet against something less solid than rock, he catapulted himself up to the breaching point of the ground. Seeing light and tasting air Toro ripped his arms out from the dirt and pushed the ground. With a sickening pop his legs were released from the Earth.

All around him earth benders emerged from their element. Toro fell to one knee but held his blade up high.

-To Be Continued.


	8. Chapter 8

The Line

Chapter Eight

Noon had long passed and the battle was still going on. With their powers over fire waning with the setting of the sun, the Fire Nation soldiers were becoming less and less sure of their victory with each passing minute. But perspective is a funny thing, one man's potential downfall is another's potential victory.

"When's the sun going to set? How much longer?" Earth Kingdom Forces Commander Kiara asked. She and her fellow commanding officers were standing out on the ridge of one of the Earth Kingdom Fortress's towers, looking out towards the jungles and the battle that was taking place.

"Won't be long…won't be long…" Officer See said, more to himself than to the others. Kiara looked at him as did the other two C.O.'s. Bald, with a small character tattoo on above his ear, and a Buddhist's necklace about his neck, See regarded them as well. While not a true commanding officer, See was revered (read: feared) by all the ranking soldiers beneath him, and by quite a few above him as well. Kiara was one of the few soldiers in this particular regiment to know of See's "eccentricities".

See liked war, a lot. He was, in short, a masochist for it because it caused pain, both for himself and others. And he made no secret of what he did in his off hours. He crushed parts of his body slowly, then quickly, then slowly with rocks, to harden his muscles and toughen his skin. This combined with his battlefield prowess had created a body riddled with scars and lacerations that would just barely heal before being opened again. It was theorized by many of the female soldiers that See got off more on his own agony then he could with any women.

"See, just to make the orders clear we're only defending this base, **nothing else**." Commanding Officer Lao said, his eyes staring and gripping See like an iron vice. To any other soldier this would be reason enough to fear reprisals. But See was…See.

"What I do, commander, everything I do is for the Earth Kingdom," See said with a smile that even an interrogater would have trouble reading. "Commander." he added with a barely audible sneer.

"Your enemy is the Fire Nation See, I don't want any friendly fire." Kiara ordered. See grinned and straightened his back.

"You're all so paranoid…I **promise** not to hurt anyone but the Fire Nation," See said waving off the assembled officers. "Now, while you all discuss the philosophy of "proper" warfare, I'll be off winning this war." See leaped over the rail and slid down the fortress wall, using his earth bending to keep him sliding on the building.

"What do you think?" Choji, the shortest of the officers asked Lao and Kiara.

"Of See? I'd think about praying for our enemies." Lao responded. Kiara looked out on the battle and wondered how many of her own troops would suffer due to See's participation.

…

Night was fast approaching, and Toro could only guess how high the probability of his death would be once the sun disappeared under the horizon.

So far, he had been able to fight off the earth benders surrounding him. And he had even succeeded in cutting off the arms of two of them (one off each). But he was growing tired, quickly.

There were six of them to begin with. Two were out of the fight and had gone limping back into the melee. That left four for him to fight.

Curious. Toro wondered. Fire Nation soldiers wore masked helmets yet the Earth Kingdom soldiers showed their faces completely. Did anonymity matter less to the Earth Kingdom? Or did the Fire Nation just want to represent itself in the death gaze of the collective iron mask?

Toro was quickly brought out of his thoughts when a series of rocks were launched at him. Swinging his sword Toro destroyed most of the rocks with the blade trailing flame behind it. Toro's knowledge of fire bending was basic at best, and fire bending through objects was usually just wishful thinking on his part. But right now, in the field of battle, the intense heat and experience of it, Toro was feeling a high. Anything was possible. Life and death were at the edge of his sword!

Some of the rocks got through however and pelted him in the shoulder and the stomach. The breath knocked out of him, Toro fell to one knee and feebly put up his arms in defense as a wall of earth was propelled towards him.

Slammed and shoved screamingly fast towards a series of trees with hard trunk bases, Toro brought his hands to the wall and pushed himself off to the side of the wall. Falling to the ground and not giving himself time to think, he quickly let out a fire blast in a random direction.

Narrowly missing one of the heads of the opposing soldiers by millimeters. The blast engulfed a tangle of vines, setting it ablaze. Normally this would mean nothing, but in that one moment, two of the four earth benders turned to stare at the sudden fire.

Taking his chance Toro engulfed his blade in flame (Agni knows how) and threw it at one of the soldiers, impaling him through the chest. Turning his head, the other soldier who looked at the fire was able to only able to open his mouth in the time between Toro firing off a burst of flame and he himself being engulfed in it. Thrown back by the fiery projectile he fell to the ground and began screaming and writhing in agony as the fire quickly consumed him.

"Ahh! Help me! Please!" he cried out. Momentarily forgetting Toro, the other two earth benders bent the earth beneath their comrade's body and quickly consumed him in Earth, effectively squelching the flame. However, this victory was to last only a few moments. Before the benders realized, one was stabbed through the back with a spear and the other was gored by a Rhinoceros-Stallion.

"Thanks for the help," Toro said running over to pick up his sword.

"Like to think you had them," the rider of the steed said. Toro smirked.

"My luck's changed as of late," Toro joked, rushing off into the jungles.

The soldier with the spear shrugged and followed his comrade on the steed into battle.

…

Tompha had kept count. Three dirt pushers, a couple swordsmen, and one idiot on an Ostrich Horse. And so far his injuries had been light, one (maybe two) busted ribs, that's it. Not too bad for a battle that had been going on for roughly four hours now. Wonder what his wife would think?

"Any of you shit kickers married?" Tompha asked as he dodged a spear and gripped the face of one, easily giving him a third degree burn.

"What?" one of the Earth Kingdom soldiers asked. Tompha brought his leg in a sweeping arc spreading a wall of fire over his opponents heads. A few of them were engulfed and took off running. However, one or two of the benders had hastily put up a rock wall to block the rain of fire.

"Marriage, it's a bitch but I think it's something worth coming home to, wouldn't you agree?" Tompha smirked, clearly toying with his enemies, the opposing benders frowned and resumed their stances. Tompha did the same but was quickly shocked when a spear of razor sharp rock pierced a soldier, an Earth Kingdom soldier.

"What the-" the surviving soldier next to the speared one muttered even before the victim of the attack realized what had just happened.

"You're relieved of your duties, now be off," a voice from the depth of the jungles yelled. A few of the Earth Kingdom soldiers froze. Some even shivered, Tompha noticed.

"Y-yes, O-o-ficer See," one of the soldiers spoke for the rest and took off running along with many other soldiers. Tompha, plus the rest of the Fire Nation troops were baffled, now apparently facing only one real enemy.

"You spoke of marriage, yes?" See asked Tompha. The fire benders looked from him to Tompha.

"Yeah, what's it to you dirt push-" Tompha was cut off by a stalagmite through his leg and a boulder simultaneously hitting him square in the chest with a sickening snap. Felled backward, Tompha was ass flat on the ground. The other Fire Nation troops took up their stances as See regarded them cooly.

"I hate to be seen as a man of single dimension. Life is pain. I'm just an agent of life that has acknowledged that," See said. "Come," he said to his opponents. "Let me prove my philosophy and show you the pleasure and purity of horrid agony." he stated as calmly as a teacher to a group of students.

…

Rushing through the fronds and low hanging vines, Toro cut a path for himself. Running over the prostrate bodies of the dead and dying both friend and foe, he barely had time to realize where he was when it dawned on him that he was in a clearing.

"What happened?" he asked himself. All around the clearing were the strewn bodies of fire and earth benders. Some were hanging from the trees, others were buried in the ground with only the odd hand or leg sticking out, some were simply charred corpses or impaled bodies on rock.

Looking around, Toro was nervously trying to ascertain why this particular clearing was deathly quiet. While the din of war was going on all around, this area was so silent that Toro could hear the scampering of tiny animals going back and forth over the bodies. The Humming Flies were already beginning to settle in on the bodies, slowly consuming them and laying their eggs in the bodies wounds and orifices.

Just then, an object came crashing through the jungle wall and out into the clearing. It landed right at Toro's feet. It was a Fire Nation soldier's body, minus the Fire Nation soldier's head. Before he was cognizant of it, Toro began coughing, then retching, and finally vomiting. It was as if the entirety of this battle, possibly this war had finally caught up with him and was wringing him dry metaphorically and somewhat quite literally.

Heaving, Toro took deep breaths, trying to steady himself.

"Damn it," he thought. "What kind of soldier acts this way?" Toro fell to his knees. His world was spinning, becoming blurrier, less distinct, more abstract in form and shape. The next thing he felt was his head on the hard jungle floor.

Just rest. Shut your eyes. He heard these words from nowhere. All encompassing. Tempting beyond measure. Everything felt heavy.

Another body fell next to Toro's. From his perspective Toro was eye to eye with the body. With a sickening feeing he recognized it, it was Tompha.

"T-tompha?" Toro asked feebly. The body wasn't moving. Toro reached out a hand and touched Tompha's face. He didn't move. Feeling some warmth, Toro guessed, hoped, he was still alive.

Just then, Toro looked up and saw two stone pillars appear from the ground and separate the foliage of the jungle, clearing a path far more efficiently than any blade could.

"What a waste of fire and flesh." the Earth Kingdom Officer mumbled as he walked past the two earthen walls.

Toro shuffled to his feet and unsteadily stood up.

"Well now," See said. Looking at Toro.

"Did you…did you do this?" Toro asked.

See had a long smile on his face. Toro noticed his narrow eyes and the Buddhist necklace around his neck and wrist.

"Either me or your deity…Agni or whatever he's called."

Toro hefted his blade which at that moment seemed to weigh as much as a boulder. Feeling something emanating from this man, Toro felt the now familiar nausea begin to boil up inside of him. The bile began to climb the inside of his throat.

"This man is something different, he's-" Toro couldn't finish his thought as See charged at him with a boulder propelling him. Toro could feel his death fast approaching, a certain relief came over him as he raised his sword.

A body appeared between Toro and See at the last second, bringing its foot around in a high arc spreading a surge of white flame, causing See to pause and jump back.

"He's an enemy ace, Officer See of the Earth Kingdom Elite Earth Benders," Ishe said glancing up at Toro from his stance. "Stand back Toro, I'll take it from here." Toro backed up a few steps and leaned against the base of a tree, his body slowly beginning to recover.

See looked on, taking in Ishe's full appearance.

"I see," he said grinning. "I see." he repeated, taking his stance as the battle around him intensified, his narrow eyes almost looking as if they were closed.

-To Be Continued.


End file.
